conturo mft table recommendation?

[gruz]

Hi- I have been using the conturo for a while now, and am happy with it.  I have the opportunity to get the mft insert table for a good price, and am wondering if anyone has used it-- can recommend or not?  I don't do curved work or onsite edge banding.  I feel the down side is the extra space needed for longer pieces (an 8' piece needs 8' on either side of the machine rather than clamping it down and moving the conturo itself), and the extra real estate of another mft table set up (or even broken down) as I'm working out a tiny shop space. 
what are the benefits and drawbacks of using these?  Thanks in advance.

 

[afish]

I have both the conturo and table insert. Just fyi I dont use it in a MFT/3 I bought just the bracket and made my own top.  For long panels like you are asking about I never use the table mount.  I use the table mount when doing narrow parts.  This is usually an issue for drawer parts. 

 

[Distinctive Interiors]

As afish said, I also have the Conturo MFT table and mainly use it for smaller sections that may be difficult to clamp whilst using the Conturo in the hand held mode.

Having said that, I had an issue with my Conturo MFT top when it arrived and I started assembling it.
I had expected the top to be solid MDF ( as the original MFT top is ) but, the Conturo top is MDF top and bottom  with a chipboard core and is a bit flexible, due to the large hole required and once the Conturo is fitted into it, the weight of the Conturo makes the top sag and this makes the application of the edgebanding very irregular. It is far more noticeable whilst applying edgebanding on larger sections of material.

I contacted Festool UK and explained the problem to them and they very promptly sent me a replacement top.....Unfortunately,  the replacement was just as bad and is still sitting in the package it was delivered in.

I managed to solve the problem by fitting a box section of 50mm x 20mm alloy to the under side of the top. This has straightened out the top and there is no noticeable sag when the Conturo is inserted.

Below is a picture showing the Conturo MFT top and the brace ( an old spirit level...) I fitted on the underside.

[attachimg=1]

 

[afish]

Distinctive Interiors brings up a good point.  We might have discussed this actually in the past but I have a similar issue with mine.  However since Im only using it for small parts and mine bows front to back not side to side like his picture shows it doesnt really effect me.  However when I redo my bench I will address the issue and install some extra supports.  The weight of the conturo and bracket isnt light and the large hole is a recipe for sagging.  So if you get it keep that in mind when building the top.